Tennis Anyone? (Match Point)

So, I’m not the biggest Woody Allen fan in the world. I feel most of his work, particularly over the past decade, is pure shit written to amuse himself and his friends, but I’ll admit I’ve found a few exceptions and Match Point is one of those.

Mildly reminicent of The Talented Mr. Ripley (minus the impersonation), Match Point is a story of calculated social climbing, passion, love and money … oh yeah, and MURDER.

Chris Wilson (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a semi-successful tour tennis player turn country club tennis pro, meets Tom (Matthew Goode), the son of a wealthy British businessman, and quickly finds himself in the midst of High Society.

He meets Toms sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), and slowly digs his claws into the family Hewett. Leaving his tennis pro life behind, he accepts a position in the family business. Groomed by the family, he quickly advances in both his relationship with Chloe and his new career.

The twist - because you know there has to be a twist:

About the same time Chris meets Chloe, he also meets the stunning Ms. Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson) during a party at the Hewett estate. In a scene that feels much like a (very well acted) porn introduction, sparks fly… Right about the time you expect them to start tearing each others cloths off (wha chic-a-wha wha) Tom enters to introduce Nola as his girlfriend.

A short while and a lot of sexual tention later, Chris and Nola have an impulsive roll in the rain on the back 40 of the Hewett estate… A one time thing - Until Tom breaks off his relationship with Nola and Chris decides he can have the best of both worlds. Now married to Chloe he starts a long passionate affair with Nola and things get sticky …and someone eventually has to die…

Ok - so the plots been done a million times and seems predictable, but this one is really done well … The constant underlying message of lucks roll in everyday life hits home and really helps build the suspense in the end.

Overall, I think this is the best work Woody has put out in this decade, and probably one of the better films of his career.